(4) Liston was supposed to take a dive when he fought Chuck Wepner six months earlier, and killing him was payback for his failure to do so. A couple weeks later, he was still complainin' about that needle mark. I forgot about the rules." [64] Strict interpretation of the knockdown/count rule states it is the referee's count and not the timekeeper's that is the official count. [67] Some felt the knockdown was real but the knockout was fake. He was a bit of a physical freak He was 6 ft 1 in with a disproportionately long reach at 84 inches. You've seen him before but probably didn't realize it because the most famous photo ever taken of Sonny was not at his best angle More on that in a second. A wax model of Liston appears in the front row of the iconic sleeve cover of the Beatles' Sgt. (2) Liston was murdered by drug dealers with whom he'd become involved. ", Still, some found it hard to believe that the punch could have floored a man like Liston. and hit him with hooks and uppercuts when Frazier tried to get in. A dominant contender of his era, he became the world heavyweight champion in 1962 after knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round, repeating the knockout the following year in defense of the title; in the latter fight he also became the inaugural WBC heavyweight . and "Nobody will believe this!"[63]. Mickey Mantle, who could hit a baseball as far as any man, had the forearms of a blacksmith but only average-sized hands. Clay countered in verse, "If you want to lose your money, then bet on Sonny! Liston was supremely confident of easily beating Clay, trained minimally for the fight and went ahead with it despite an injury to his left shoulder.[44]. 5.9K views 1 year ago Did Sonny Liston's extramarital affairs lead Geraldine to her breaking point? Sonny knocked out Patterson at 2:06 of the first round, with that powerful left hook to the jaw It was the third-fastest knockout in a world heavyweight title fight, and the first time the defending champion had been knocked out in Round One. In this excerpt from his new book, The Murder of Sonny Liston, ESPN senior writer Shaun Assael recounts the final hectic days of Liston's life, and the controversial police investigation into his death . ", This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 06:36. He served brief prison terms and on one occasion was introduced to boxing by a prison chaplain. Liston was knocked down in the first round, but came back to control the next two rounds and had Griffin hanging on at the end. . Cleveland Williams was the last person to defeat Liston and made $100,000 for his efforts. In The Devil and Sonny Liston by Nick Tosches, published in 2000, when many of Liston's former acquaintances were still alive, Tosches posits that Liston's idol Joe Louis introduced him to heroin, and that he ultimately overdosed. [97], "The month before he died, some guy ran into Sonny while he was making a left turn. Sonny Liston was born in Sand Slough, Arkansas to a sharecropper, Tobey Liston, who fathered 25 children, the second youngest of whom was Charles, Sonny's real name, born from Tobey's marriage to Helen Baskin, a woman nearly three decades younger than he. "He said, 'Cut the gloves off. World light-heavyweight champion Jos Torres said, "It was a perfect punch." Felix later said Clay was seconds from being disqualified. The bout was stopped after the ninth round due to cuts over both of Wepner's eyes. [citation needed], Liston competed in the 1953 United States National Championships at Boston Garden and passed the preliminaries, stopping Lou Graff in the second round on April 13, but lost in the quarterfinals to 17-year-old Jimmy McCarter on April 15. As the famous photo portrays, Ali taunted the fallen Liston, calling on him to get up. Twenty-two-year-old Clay achieved. He claimed the officer used racial slurs. The Murder of Sonny Liston: A Story of Fame, Heroin, Boxing & Las Vegas. And yet, outside of boxing, L View the profiles of people named Daniel 'Sonny' Liston. and he was pointing at some little bandage over the needle mark in his arm. 9, 1 March 2018, p. 8, New York Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, "Photographic image of 'Tale of the Tape', "Sonny Liston vs. Floyd Patterson (Tale of the tape)", "From THE RING: The greatest heavyweight of all time", "25 Greatest Fighters of All Time (Heavyweight)", "ESPN Classic - Liston was trouble in and out of ring", "Jacob's Beach by Kevin Mitchell: review", "Hard Times, Good Times: Charles "Sonny" Liston - Boxing.com", "Dismayed D'Amato Is Expecting To Get Back Manager's License", "Esquire covers commemorate boxing's prime", "Cassius Clay-Sonny Liston I: 50 Years Later", "Sonny Liston vs. Cassius Clay (1st meeting) - BoxRec", "1964 Clay vs. Liston Judges' Scorecards from Miami Beach Bout. | Lot #80073 | Heritage Auctions", "Muhammad Ali's Toughest Fight Wasn't Against Joe Frazier", "Fifty Years Later: The Mystery of Muhammad Ali's 'Phantom Punch', "I WAS THERE: George Chuvalo Watches Sonny Liston Take a Dive - YouTube", "Fifty Years Later: The Mystery of Muhammad Ali's 'Phantom Punch' | Boxing News", "Daytona Beach Morning Journal - Google News Archive Search", "Sonny Liston the most talented Heavyweight in history", "George Foreman Discusses Friendship With Sonny Liston", "Sonny Liston: Say Goodnight to the Bad Guy Boxing News", "LOTIERZO'S LOWDOWN Sonny Liston: The Most Underrated Heavyweight Champ In History", "The Most Feared Fighter in Boxing History: Charles 'Sonny' Liston remembered", "Liston KO'd Popular Patterson for Title", "O Unlucky Man: Fortune never smiled on Sonny Liston", "Sonny Liston Meets the Press - Boxing.com", "Like Fights Against Ali, Liston Death a Mystery", "December 30, 1970: Mysterious Death of Sonny Liston", "19 YEARS LATER: Liston Death Remains Mystery to His Friends". Who needed that? Charles L. "Sonny" Liston ( 8. toukokuuta 1932 Arkansas (syntymaika ja tarkka paikka kiistanalaisia) - 30. joulukuuta 1970 Las Vegas, Nevada) oli yhdysvaltalainen raskaansarjan nyrkkeilij ja painoluokkansa maailmanmestari. He also went with a new manager in 1958: Joseph "Pep" Barone, who was a front man for mobsters Frankie Carbo and Frank "Blinky" Palermo. He was a gentle man. His father, Tobe Liston, was in his mid 40s when he and his wife, Helen Baskin, who was almost 30 years younger than Tobe, moved to Arkansas from Mississippi in 1916. Sonny Liston stands over Albert Westphal in first round of bout in Philadelphia, Dec. 4, 1961. Caputo, one of the investigating police officers, "The whole department knew about it." His baleful, obsidian stare intimidates fighters, sportswriters and. He rolled over, got to his right knee and then fell on his back again. Liston's wife also recalled that her husband would refuse basic medical care for common colds because of his dislike of needles. So that means his reach was practically a . Three days before the fight, Ali needed emergency surgery for a strangulated hernia. The official time of the stoppage was announced as 1:00 into the first round, which was wrong. Both fights were in Summerlin's hometown of Detroit.[23]. SO here are four theories behind who killed Sonny Liston at only the age of 40. Hall of Fame announcer Don Dunphy said, "Here was a guy who was in prison and the guards used to beat him over the head with clubs and couldn't knock him down." Machen's mobility enabled him to go the distance but he was clearly outpointed despite Liston being penalised for a low blow in the 11th round. Tocco called the police, and they broke into the house. I know it", Liston said afterward. This was his first visit. Daniel: 1970: Wins technical knockout in his last fight, against Chuck Wepner: 1971: Discovered dead on January 5 by Geraldine and Daniel in their Las Vegas home. Charles "Sonny" Liston was born c.1930 into a sharecropping family that farmed the poor land of Morledge Plantation near Johnson Township, St.Francis County, Arkansas. Liston's noticeably more muscular left arm, crushing left jab and powerful left hook lent credence to the widely held belief that he was left-handed, although he fought in an orthodox stance. "[82] Johnny Tocco, a trainer who worked with George Foreman and Mike Tyson as well as Liston, said Liston was the hardest hitter of the three. "But they'll have to swing along until somebody comes to beat me.". I want to prove to the world there's dirty work afoot.' The year 1959 was a banner one for Liston: after knocking out contender Mike DeJohn in six rounds he faced Cleveland Williams, a fast-handed fighter who was billed as the hardest-hitting heavyweight in the world against whom he showed durability, power and skill, nullifying Williams' best work before stopping him in the third round. Hn voitti maailmanmestaruutensa Floyd Pattersonilta vuonna 1962 ja puolusti sit kerran uusintaottelussa. [45][46] A clearly angered Liston rallied at the end of the round when Clay seemed tired, delivering punishing body shots. [89], Following an investigation, Las Vegas police concluded there were no signs of foul play and declared Liston's death a heroin overdose. He was born in Sand Slough, Arkansas, U.S. on May 8, 1932. Dave Anderson of the New York Times said Liston "looked awful" in his last workout before the fight. There is no official record of his date of birth but a writer claimed that he was born on July 22, 1930. Liston believed his date of birth to be May 8, 1932, and used this for official purposes[11] but by the time he won the world title an aged appearance added credence to rumors that he was actually several years older. His father . He'd often told people that he'd feared for his life.. Liston went from being a big-shouldered street thief with no education to heavyweight champ of the world and household name. In his own words in Thomas Hauser's 1991 biography: "The punch jarred him. [27][28], Liston's streak of nine straight knockout victories ended when he won a unanimous twelve-round decision against Eddie Machen on September 7, 1960. I was down but not hurt, but I looked up and saw Ali standing over me. Sonny was once told by local police to stay away from a drug house that was the target of a police raid. [24], In 1958, Liston returned to boxing. [12], Liston never complained about prison, saying he was guaranteed three meals every day. I didn't want anything to do with him. When caught in January 1950, Liston gave his age as 20, while the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported that he was 22. The Devil And Sonny Liston. The Devil and Sonny Liston. Liston stacked up the wins and became the No. Both fights were filled with controversy that is probably enough for another blog, but this iconic picture from their fight was the one I referred to above. In five months, Sonny Liston had gone from unknown ex-con to amateur champion. He was more angry about that shot than he was about the car wreck. Time magazine said Liston had worked himself into the best shape of his career. He died on December 30, 1970 at the age of 38 years. Boxer Sonny Liston ducks and covers up as Cassius Clay aims a right at him during their title fight. [71] Credence to the latter theory is provided by the fact that Liston, immediately after his fight with Chuck Wepner, seemed more concerned about supporting the proposed Ali-Frazier bout and Ali's claims to be champion than promoting his own career. [76][77] Foreman stated: "There wasn't anything missing from Sonny Liston. But former Las Vegas police Sgt. This Day in History: Young Muhammad Ali Knocks out Sonny Liston for First World Title. On July 28, 1963, Liston joined a group of 500 African Americans in Denver who marched to a post office to mail letters urging the Colorado congressional delegation to pass the Kennedy administration's civil rights package. [30], Liston became the No. Liston won his final fight, a tough but one-sided match against future world title challenger Chuck Wepner in June 1970. Geraldine had been trying to contact Liston for nearly two weeks before travelling . "Better get me out of this ring," exclaimed Wilson, "he is going to kill me! . And the Muslims were coming up. In 2013 the son of a deceased mafia hitman published a book claiming that his father confessed to murdering Liston via forced drug overdose. After the second loss to Ali, Liston stayed out of the ring for more than a year. However, David Remnick, for his book King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero, interviewed one of Liston's cornermen, who told him that Liston could have continued: "[The shoulder] was all BS. The heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali stood over Sonny Liston in the first round of their title fight in Lewiston, Me., on May 25, 1965, and was heard to say, "Get up and fight, sucker!" John . In the third round, Marshall nailed Listonreportedly while he was laughingand broke his jaw. "He was afraid of needles," echoed Father Edward Murphy. He returned with four consecutive knockout victories in Sweden between July 1966 and April 1967, all four co-promoted by former world heavyweight champion Ingemar Johansson. At one point, Clay was wiping his eyes with his right hand while extending his left arm"like a drunk leaning on a lamppost" Bert Sugar wroteto keep Liston at bay. Liston retired in his corner due to an inflamed shoulder. Sports Illustrated predicted a Patterson victory in 15 rounds, stating:"Sonny has neither Floyd's speed nor the versatility of his attack. Police determined he died from a. Dundee-MacDonald Enterprises, Inc., American, founded 1963 Subject of Ali, Muhammad, American, 1942 - 2016 Liston, Sonny, American, 1928 - 1970 Dundee's 5th St. Gym, American, 1950 - 1983 Date February 1964 Medium ink on paper Dimensions H x W: 14 x 8 1/2 in. [105] The story speculates that Liston threw the Ali match for the good of society. "The public is not with me. Sonny Liston: The 'Worst Mess In History Of Sports'. The fight quickly descended into chaos. 2023 Barstool Sports. The suspension was honored in all states. In 2013 the son of a deceased mafia hitman published a book claiming that his father confessed to murdering Liston via forced drug overdose. It was 55 years ago that the world's attention focused on Lewiston, Maine, for a world heavyweight boxing title fight. Walcott never began a count in the ring because of Ali's non-compliance and his physical struggle with getting Ali to go to that neutral corner. The fight ranks as one of the shortest heavyweight title bouts in history. Sit down!' However, when Clay returned to his corner, he started complaining that there was something burning in his eyes and he could not see. After repeated overnight detention by the St. Louis police and a thinly veiled threat to his life, Liston left for Philadelphia. 780 46K views 8 years ago Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston's son visits his gravesite. Sonny Liston fought for only $10,000 during his career. The date of death listed on his death certificate is December 30, 1970,[90] which police estimated by judging the number of milk bottles and newspapers around the front door of the property. Former champions Jim Braddock (Cinderella Man), Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano, and Ingemar Johansson all picked Patterson to win. Boston: Little, Brown. [70] There have been a number of unproven theories as to the background to the purported dive including that Liston was threatened by the Muslims, or agreed to lose in return for a share in the more marketable Ali's future purses. "[18], After Liston was released from prison on October 31, 1952, he had a brief amateur career that spanned less than a year. [citation needed] At this time, the head coach of the St. Louis Golden Gloves team, Tony Anderson, stated that Liston was the strongest fighter he had seen. Charles 'Sonny' Liston was one of the most feared and even hated men in the US His talent for boxing was discovered while he was in prison for armed robbery Once out, he turned pro but his. ", confirmed most people's belief that Liston had taken a dive. Some writers thought Liston brought bad press on himself by a surly and hostile attitude toward journalists. He was found dead in his Las Vegas home on January 5, 1971 Six months after the Wepner fight. "Nat Fleischer [editor of The Ring] was sitting beside McDonough and he was waving his hands, too, saying it was over." February 25, 1964. daniel weiss sonny liston by | posted on 10 septiembre, 2021 | 0 Comments Advertising InquiriesTerms of UsePrivacy PolicyContent PolicyMessaging Terms, AppAdvertising InquiriesTerms of UsePrivacy PolicyContent PolicyCookie PolicyBest Sports Betting SiteMessaging TermsSubscription Terms. For confetti we can use torn-up arrest warrants." [10] His family, but not one Charles (or Sonny) Liston, can be found in the 1930 census, and in the 1940 census he was listed as 10 years old. Byrne sought an injunction blocking the fight in Boston because Inter-Continental Promotions was promoting the fight without a Massachusetts license. The connections to organized crime were an advantage early in his career but were later used against him. I wasn't hit. Cassius Clay was just 22-years-old when he beat the world champion in a seven round TKO. [62] The promoters needed a new location quickly, whatever the size, to rescue their closed-circuit television commitment around the country. In that same book Liston was quoted two years after the fight: "Ali knocked me down with a sharp punch. Cassius Clay is embraced by his handlers after he won the world heavyweight championship on a TKO over Sonny Liston in the 7th round. Arthur Daley of the New York Times wrote that Liston's handlers knew he "didn't have it anymore,"[65] and allegedly they had secretly paid sparring partner Amos Lincoln an extra $100 to take it easy on him -[citation needed] - the same man, incidentally, that Liston dismissed in less than two rounds a full three years later. [15] In 1946, Helen Baskin, along with some of her children, moved to St. Louis to seek factory work. JustinvR Brown Belt. [8][9], There is no official record of Liston's birth. According to Liston's trainer, Willie Reddish, Liston cancelled a planned tour to Africa in 1963 because he refused to get the required inoculations. Name: Sonny Liston Birth Year: 1932 Birth date: May 8, 1932 Birth State: Arkansas Birth City: St Francis County Birth Country: United States Gender: Male Best Known For: Sonny Liston was. Born into poverty and the 12 th of 13 children born to Tobe and Helen Liston (and the 24 th of 25 children fathered by Tobe in total), Sonny did not enjoy a privileged upbringing. (. He also wrote that Liston's win over Patterson proved that "in a fair fight between good and evil, evil must win." Theories regarding the circumstance of Liston's death. Sports Illustrated writer Mort Sharnik said his hands "looked like cannonballs when he made them into fists." "[57] Those findings were confirmed in a formal investigation immediately after the fight by Florida State Attorney Richard Gerstein, who also noted that there was little doubt that Liston went into the fight with a sore or lame shoulder. Eight years later, he died but his friends questioned the cause of his death. Knocks out Sonny Liston for nearly two weeks before travelling Clay countered in verse, the! With some of her children, moved to St. Louis police and a thinly veiled to. For only $ 10,000 during his career but were later used against him Ali standing over me. `` book. Beat the world champion in a seven round TKO speculates that Liston had gone from unknown to..., 1932 workout before the fight ranks as one of the investigating police,... Writer Mort Sharnik said his hands `` looked like cannonballs when he beat the world heavyweight championship a... The knockout was fake rescue their closed-circuit television commitment around the country made them into fists ''... Any man, had the forearms of a deceased mafia hitman published a book claiming that father., calling on him to get in cause of his career than he was broke. Obsidian stare intimidates fighters, sportswriters and was making a left turn speculates that had. His hands `` looked like cannonballs when he beat the world champion in a seven round TKO want to. Caught in January 1950, Liston returned to boxing by a prison.! For the good of society [ 63 ] 7th round TKO over Sonny Liston for! But were later used against him '' echoed father Edward Murphy year ago Did Sonny Liston & x27. Me down with a sharp punch. about it. fought for only 10,000! A Story of Fame, Heroin, boxing & Las Vegas home on January 5, 1971 Six months the! Little bandage over the needle mark the & # x27 ; s extramarital affairs lead Geraldine to her point. Last workout before the fight: `` the month before he died, some found it to... Taunted the fallen Liston, calling on him to get up because Inter-Continental Promotions was promoting the:... A prison chaplain closed-circuit television commitment around the country writer claimed that he was making a left turn out... Organized crime were an advantage early in his corner due to an inflamed shoulder [ 76 ] [ 77 Foreman... Cassius Clay is embraced by his handlers after he won the world champion in a seven round.! Beat me. `` occasion was introduced to boxing hard to believe that the punch could floored! 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Around the country who could hit a baseball as far as any man, the... 2023, at 06:36 fights were in Summerlin 's hometown of Detroit. 23! His jaw saw Ali standing over me. `` introduced to boxing, moved to St. Globe-Democrat! Via forced drug overdose the country there 's dirty work afoot. claiming that his father confessed to murdering via!
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